A Fool's Paradise
by Fried Cheesecake
Summary: Behind every hero, there is a heroine. 30 prompts for MithosxOC.
1. third time's the charm

30 prompts for Mithos and my OC, Jane. You will notice that I shamelessly stole many of these prompts from around the internets. :D

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><p><strong>third time's the charm<strong>

The first time he kisses her, she barely even feels his lips touch her cheek. Her right hand is loosely joined with his, and his golden hair brushes over her nose, but his lips just ghost over her skin. She blinks as he steps back, a deep blush blossoming on his face, and then he is gone.

The second time he kisses her, he aims for her cheek again, but she gets scared and tries to move out of the way at the last second, so he stumbles and kisses the air over her shoulder instead.

The third time he kisses her, and the last time, their lips finally meet and his face is so soft and she can't imagine how he could ever be a killer. He's so warm up next to her, and she grips his shoulder with her ragged fingernails and tries to hold on to him forever- then she feels that damned magic sword brush against her thigh and she pushes him away and runs as fast as she can.

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><p>Disclaimer: Tales of Symphonia is not mine.<p> 


	2. ride with me

**ride with me**

The war is over and the great Kharlan heroes have come back to the temple to relax after two long years of fighting. Jane sits at her father's piano in the parlour and runs her fingers over the keys, feeling the cold marble on her skin. It's only mid-morning and she is already exhausted from working in the kitchens. There's a host of elves from Heimdall due this afternoon. They're on their way to Meltokio to try and negotiate with Queen Soleille. Having visited Heimdall often, Jane can easily predict what they will want, and she has met the queen. Nothing good is going to come out of this meeting.

"Ahem."

Jane glances over her shoulder at Mithos, who has just appeared in the doorway. He's changed since she last saw him. He looks older, more mature. He's wearing tall, brown riding boots, tan trousers and a loose white shirt tucked into his belt. "Milady," he says, nodding his head, and she can't tell whether he's trying to be a gentleman or is just acting like his usual, sarcastic self.

"What's with the getup?" Jane asks, turning around on the piano stool. She self-consciously adjusts her pale blue gown.

"Your father, the honorable Lord Provice, has a message to be delivered to Ithaca," he explains, leaning against the doorway.

"What, and he's asked you to deliver it?" she snorts. Mithos stands up straight again, looking hurt.

"I'm a good rider, you know," he says. "Better than you, at any rate," he adds quickly, smirking a little bit. Jane scowls at him.

"That was my first time on a horse, alright?" she says. Mithos chuckles.

"Anyways, I think you should come with me," he says. "The more the merrier, right?"

"Can I trust your riding abilities?" she asks. She's just teasing now, because she already knows that Mithos is exceptional, but he deserves it.

"Of course," he replies, holding out a hand. Jane rolls her eyes, but takes it anyway. "You can always trust me."


	3. breaking the rules

**breaking the rules**

People say the Kharlan war heroes were killed by an elfish assassin about a year ago. The story says that Lady Martel was the first to go. She was stabbed through the heart, and Lords Yuan and Kratos shortly followed. There are multiple stories that describe their deaths, and some of them are gruesome. All the rumors go on to say that Mithos the Hero himself was last to die. Some say it's because he put up a fight. Others believe that it's because he was a coward, and would rather have the others die than perish himself.

Jane visits the place where they were supposedly buried, and is not surprised to see that the site has gathered quite a number of people. Nearly all of them are half-elves. There are some humans. There are no elves.

She doesn't approach the site, because the world has turned horribly violent towards anyone of pure elfish descent over the last year. Instead, she perches herself in an oak tree not too far from the site and watches as the people pass by.

She doesn't even hear him approach, but she feels a sparkling wing brush against her cheek, and she nearly falls from the tree. Mithos puts a hand on her shoulder, steadying her, and she glances at him. She has been preparing herself for this moment for a whole year, readying herself for the shock that will come when she sees him descend from the heavens, but now that the moment is here, she feels nothing but relief.

"You really shouldn't be here," she says, and spots the Eternal sword strapped to his hip. He follows her gaze with his lifeless eyes.

"Who says?" he murmurs. "I make the rules now."

Jane cringes, and the tears pour out and she can't stop them and she can't do anything except lean into his shoulder and cry. She would rather him be dead.


	4. blood on my hands

**blood on my hands**

Mithos was the only one there when Martel was killed. Kratos was in the courtyard with her father, discussing what they are to do now to rebuild this damaged world, and Yuan was still limping around the infirmary, wincing as he stepped on his wounded leg.

Jane was gathering herbs from the garden for celebratory feast. She heard Mithos' footsteps as he trudged up the dirt path to the temple, and she could hear something trailing on the ground behind him. She turned, and saw Martel's staff hanging limply in his hand, leaving a trail in the dirt as he dragged it along.

And then she saw the blood on his hands.

Jane doesn't even remember if she screamed or not. All she knows is that within an instant, the staff had been snapped in two and Mithos had stabbed himself in the gut.

She held him in her lap and called for her father, and it seemed like eternity passed before he came. She sat on the ground for nearly an hour afterward, staring at his blood, which coated her hands. She thought, for a brief moment, that he'd gone mad and killed his own sister, then regained his sanity and tried to kill himself, but she'll never now. He was the only one there.


	5. the other left

**the other left**

The last time she sees Mithos as a mortal (or at least she thinks so), he has recovered from his suicide attempt, and has locked himself in the library. It seems like he never leaves the room, so he's not getting any food, but Yuan and Kratos both seem to be convinced that he is still alive in there. Jane doesn't believe them, so she tries to break into the library.

She only succeeds in breaking her finger, and when she makes up a rubbish story about having an accident in the garden, she knows her father can see right through the lie. But he doesn't say anything because his fingers look a little bruised, and she knows she's not the only one who has tried to get past that impossible lock.

And then one night, around eleven, she is passing the library on the way to the parlour (playing the piano always gets rid of nightmares) and she sees that the lock has been opened. Without a thought to it, she pulls at it and tries to push the door open. It still won't budge, and the doorknob won't turn.

"It turns left," someone says suddenly, and Jane jumps around to find Mithos standing at the bottom of the stairs, watching her. She stares at him with wide eyes. He glows in the darkness, like some sort of… spirit. Or angel.

"So you're alive," she says finally, her throat dry. It makes her voice raspy, and she still blushes, damn it, even though he seems to be interested in anything but her. He doesn't respond to that, so she says, "I was turning it left." She turns it again for emphasis, and just as she realizes that she was, indeed, turning it right, Mithos sneers, "The other left."

She turns around to snap at him, but he's gone.


	6. all dolled up

**all dolled up**

"I didn't know you could play," Jane says as she steps into the room. Mithos, who is sitting on the piano bench, fingers lightly touching the keys, freezes as soon as he hears her voice. He glances up at her, and Jane self-consciously wishes that she'd done her hair up like her father had suggested. She tugs at her dress, which is a step out from her usual regency empire dress, and glances down. Not breathing is sexy in Meltokio, so a corset has been fashioned around her waist and it feels like it's going to kill her. The dress itself is made of soft cotton, dyed a light pink color, and a red belt has been fastened around her waist. She's got so many itchy petticoats on underneath that it wouldn't matter if it were made of silk, she still can't feel it. The sleeves are nearly as tight as the corset, and come all the way down to her wrists.

"I, uh, I can't," Mithos stutters, still staring at her. Typical hormonal teenage boy. "Um."

"Thanks for complimenting me," Jane says sarcastically, shoving him off the piano stool. "I know how much effort that took."

"You look nice," Mithos says immediately, watching as she plays a simple arpeggio. "I mean, you look… um… radiant."

"Radiant?" Jane snorts. "That's a new one. I hope you don't embarrass yourself like that at the ball. After all, you are a hero now."

Mithos rolls his eyes, apparently having regained his dignity. "You're one to talk. So lady like and all."

Jane sticks her tongue out at him. "Nice ponytail," she says. Mithos scowls, blushing, and tugs at it.

"Not my idea," he says. "Martel insisted."

"Well don't you two look cute," Yuan says loudly, sweeping into the room. He's still very handsome, Jane notes, even in his ridiculous uniform.

"Shut up," Mithos says, glaring at him.

"Oh, stop, you're giving me a toothache, you're so sweet."

"Ready?" Martel exclaims, peering into the room. "Aw, look at you two! You're so cute!"

Mithos rolls his eyes, and Yuan only chuckles. Jane stands up, pretending to dust her dress off. "Let's get this over with."


	7. down but not out

**down but not out**

It's nearly midnight when the exhausted group stumbles into the temple. They're all bleeding, though no one is seriously injured. Provice frets over them, and Jane can tell, even if he doesn't say, that he's worried if anyone is ever going to listen to them.

"You know how Casterbrus has built up a reputation as the most racist city in Tethe'alla?" Yuan says, nursing a cut just over his eyebrow. "Well."

"Oh," Provice sighs, handing him a cup of tea. "Oh."

"No one there is too fond of half-elves," Kratos says. "In most places, we can at least speak, but we were barely inside the city when they attacked."

Mithos doesn't say anything. He grips his cup, slouched in the chair, and stares off into the distance. Blood rolls down his cheek and falls into his cup.

Jane finds him the next morning in the courtyard, caressing the roots of the long dead Kharlan tree. This temple was built to protect it.

"We'll try again tomorrow," he says softly when she sits down next to him. "They can't keep us quiet for long."


	8. crying over spilled milk

**crying over spilled milk**

The man stumbles backwards with the force of her blow. She lets out a sharp breath and lets her bloody sword fall to the ground. The man clutches his head, gripping the hilt of his blade. He lets out a moan, and glares up at her.

Jane gasps, taking a step backwards. The man raises his dagger and starts toward her. She had dropped her sword- Mithos' sword. Oh spirits, what was she supposed to do now?

Thinking quickly, Jane reaches over her shoulder and grabs the frying pan she had strapped to her back. She wields it like a sword and takes a mighty swing, sending it flying towards the assassin's bloody head.

BANG!

He falls to the ground immediately and collapses in a heap. Jane grips the frying pan in her bruised hands, breathing heavily.

"Is he dead?" Mithos asks suddenly. Jane glances at him where he sits on the ground behind her, clutching his swollen ankle.

Jane steps toward the man cautiously. "I think so," she says, then stops. "Oh spirits. I killed him."

"You saved our lives," Mithos says sullenly.

"But I killed him," she gasps. "I just killed a man."

"Yeah, and he would have killed you."

"But I-"

"There's no point worrying about it," Mithos snaps, wobbling as he tries to pull himself to his feet. "Help me up. We need to find the others and get out of here before more come."

Jane ignores him and pulls a rough cotton blanket out of her pack. Quietly, she lays it over the dead man's face. She steps back and stares at him for a moment. She can feel Mithos' eyes on her back, so she turns around and helps him get up.

They depart shortly after, leaving the corpse for the other assassins to find.


	9. pack your bags and go

**pack your bags and go**

A knock comes on the door in the middle of supper.

Provice pauses, looking up from the table where he had been slowly stirring his soup with a piece of now soggy bread. He glances to his wife, Marisa, who sits close to him. She frowns, and holds their daughter a little tighter in her lap.

"Mama," young Jane says, chewing on a piece of bread. "Is there somebody at the door?"

Provice mouths 'wait here' to his wife, then disappears into the hall to answer the door.

"Mama, who is it?" Jane asks, smearing butter all over her face. Marisa quickly wipes it off.

"Hush, Jane," she says. "Be quiet now."

A few moments of silence pass before Provice returns to the kitchen, a boy no older than Jane trailing behind him. The child is soaked from the rain, his blonde hair flat against his face. His eyes are a brilliant sea green, though behind them hide a thousand tears. Marisa takes in a sharp breath when she sees him. His pointed ears stick out from behind his hair.

"Provice," she warns quietly, still looking at the boy. Her husband ignores her.

"This young one was standing outside in the rain," he says, pulling an extra chair up for the boy. "He's a long way from home, but I expect his parents will be out looking for him."

"M' parents don't care," the boy says, speaking for the first time. Marisa eyes him warily, and tries to hold Jane in her lap, but the little girl leaps down and runs over to him.

"I'm Jane!" she exclaims, holding up a palm, as is traditional in the Elvish greeting. "What's your name?"

Slowly, the boy extends his arm and places his hand against hers. Simultaneously, they stretch their fingers out, then bring them in again. "My names' Mithos," he says quietly.

Mithos is given supper and a place to stay for the night, but Provice has trouble getting him to sleep. He seems to be the victim of several nightmares, and when Provice spots the bruises all along his arms, it's not hard to see why.

A tired young human woman arrives at the temple the next morning, searching for her runaway son. Provice is reluctant to hand him over, but Marisa scowls and shoves the boy out the door.


	10. best of both worlds

**best of both worlds**

The priests don't know that the Chosen One's father was a half-elf.

The scriptures of Martel say that she is the daughter of an angel. She is not really her mother's child. Her mother was merely a carrier. They say that the Chosen was born from her father alone.

Jane half-wishes it was true.

Mika is only seven years old (a tiny fragment of an elf's life, though she will never live to see the full glory of a thousand years) but she speaks with the might of a queen. An angel descends from the heavens to bless her by the powers of Cruxis, and she talks back to him with such force that the priests are scandalized.

A sassy young girl, they say. She may be the Chosen One, but she needs to learn to keep her mouth shut in the presence of men. Still others say that she is an abomination, along with her church and her tower. She deserves her fate, some say.

Mika is indeed a strong-willed little girl, but it's not because she's the Chosen One. Jane knows it's because her little angel takes after her father.


	11. looking down the barrel of a gun

**looking down the barrel of a gun**

When Mika dies, because all Chosens must, Jane travels to Flanoir, the most remote place in Tethe'alla, the only city that the Church of Martel has yet to capture. She introduces herself as the Chosen's mother, and she gives a speech outside the town hall. Some people have a hard time understanding her thick Elvish accent, but their own accents are so rough and choppy that it's difficult for them to communicate with each other. Eventually, she gets her point across and the people of Flanoir applaud. It's a start.

When she returns home several days later, she finds that her vegetable garden has been demolished, and several windows of her house have been broken.

A strange insignia has been drawn in the dirt. It alone means nothing to her, but the angel feather that accompanies it is a clear warning.


	12. caught red handed

**caught red handed**

Provice may be the guardian of the Temple of the Great Kharlan Tree, but he only knows so much about the other summon spirits. A young man is summoned from Heimdall to extend their knowledge on this dire matter, but of course Mithos and Martel are worried. No on in Heimdall was particularly fond of them. Provice reassures them that this is one elf who has no prejudices, but avoids their question of why.

Jane sits in the library all morning, poring over the few books of summon spirits that they own. There's not much information here. It's just data. She doesn't know what else this guy can tell them about summon spirits, but her father says that he's an expert.

It's nearly afternoon when Mithos bursts into the library and slams the doors behind him- then stops short as he spots Jane.

"Oh," he says awkwardly. She just stares at him. She hasn't known him very long, but he's the first person her age to come along in a long while. "I didn't know you were in here."

"It's fine," is her automatic response, and she only realizes how stupid that sounds after she says it.

There's an awkward silence as Mithos moves across the room and plops down at the table across from her. He fiddles with a gyroscope that her father left laying out, and they both watch it spin and finally topple.

"It's Yuan, isn't it?" she says finally, and Mithos blinks, looking surprised.

"How'd you know that?" he asks.

Jane shrugs. "I saw him and Martel in the parlour earlier. Aren't they married?"

"What? No!" Mithos wrinkles his nose in disgust. "Spirits, no. They barely even know each other, and now she's all moony over him and- ugh."

Jane giggles.

"It's not funny," Mithos grumbles. "He's seducing her. He's going to break her heart."

"It's romantic," Jane says. "A wartime love story." Mithos snorts, leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms.

"Romantic. Right."

The library door flings open and Yuan peers in. Mithos glares at him.

"You two, stop flirting and come greet our guest," the elder half-elf says. Mithos sputters after him, but Jane only blushes and looks down at her book.


	13. everybody lies

**everybody lies**

His name is Caspienne, but it's only when he gives his last name as Hvergelmir that Martel recognizes him.

"It's you!" she exclaims, and the newcomer throws her a sideways glance. He's uncannily attractive, Jane notes, standing shyly by the foot of the stairs, with wavy, black hair, sea green eyes and pale white skin. He grins at Martel.

"Ah, you remember me!" he says, pulling her in for a hug. She flings her arms around his neck, squealing. Immediately, both Mithos and Yuan scowl.

When they pull apart, Martel turns to her brother and says, "Mithos, this is Caspienne. You remember Caspienne, right?"

Mithos only glares at the newcomer, whose smile quickly fades. "We were ah… friends," Martel says, hesitating on the last word. "A long time ago. Even before you were born. Before… well, before a lot of things happened."

Caspienne, it turns out, is indeed an expert on summon spirits. His father traveled to many of the temples, visiting the sites and paying his respects and Caspienne accompanied him on a few of these journeys. He also inherited the blue candle from his father which, as he explains, is the only device that will allow a person to see in the temple of darkness.

They're to set off to Sylvarant tomorrow morning. It's not really safe for them to be in Tethe'alla anymore, seeing as how the entire army has got Yuan and Kratos on their hit list. Jane is just blowing out the candles in the parlour when Mithos sticks his head in.

"I lied," he says, and they can hear Yuan and Caspienne arguing in the distance. "It is funny."

"They weren't just friends, were they?" Jane says quietly, moving towards the doorway. Mithos shrugs.

"I don't remember. It was a long time ago. All I know now is that my sister isn't as good as I thought she was."


	14. salt on an open wound

**salt on an open wound**

She's not allowed to accompany her daughter on the journey of Regeneration. It's heartbreaking for both of them. They've never been separated for more than a few days before, and now Mika is gone forever. They both know it in their hearts how her story will end. Everyone knows, and everyone has known since the day she was born. The Chosen One will die, and that's just how it is.

The priests return, months later, with their humble condolences. Jane sends them away, back to Meltokio, and locks herself in the once temple of the once great Kharlan tree for several days, seeing no one and doing nothing. She sits in a corner of her kitchen, curled up in a little ball and she cries herself to sleep.

And then, nearly a fortnight after the news of her daughter's death, she wakes to find Yggdrasill sitting at her kitchen table, holding a bloodied scarf in his hands. The scarf she knit for her daughter. The scarf she knit for _their _daughter.


	15. the stealing of my heart

**the stealing of my heart**

"Oh, he's dreamy!" Nancy gushes, holding the black and white photograph up to the light. "Elaine, you're so lucky to have a handsome fellow like that!"

The girl in question smiles and takes the photograph back from her friend. "He is gorgeous, isn't he?" she says, giggling. "And he's so sweet! He writes to me from overseas and tells me how much he misses me everyday!"

Constance leans forward, her chin propped up in her hands. "Tell us his name, Elaine," she says. "What was it, Freddy?"

"Frederick," Elaine corrects, carefully putting the photograph back into her purse. "Frederick Kent. And we're going to be married when he comes home this summer!"

Jane, the only unenthusiastic girl at the table, rolls her eyes. "You're barely even sixteen," she says, bored, and all the other girls turn to look at her. "What do you need to be getting married for?"

Immediately, the atmosphere becomes tense and Elaine snaps at her, "Yes, well, we can't all live to be a thousand years old, can we? For a _human_, it's a perfectly reasonable age to get married."

Constance, ever the peacemaker, glances towards Jane. "Oh, you don't have a fellow?" she asks, trying to smooth everything out. "With a pretty face like yours, I'm surprised you don't have men lining up at your doorstep."

"Jane wouldn't know the first thing about being in love," Elaine retorts before Jane gets the chance to reply. "She only cares about her piano."

"Well, it's more useful than mooning over a guy twice my age," Jane snaps back.

"Frederick is not twice my age!" Elaine says, standing up and stomping her foot. "He's only twenty! That's only four years!"

Jane scowls, leaning back in her chair, and crosses her arms. "Whatever," she says. "You _humans _can go ahead and make fools of yourselves. I'm going to be sensible."

"What about that boy?" Nancy pipes up, and Jane furrows her brow. "The blonde one?"

"What?" Jane exclaims. "You mean _Mithos_?"

"He's a half-elf!" Elaine shrieks in disgust.

"But he's cute," Constance adds shyly, and Nancy nods, giggling. "Besides, Jane, you seemed a little smitten with him when he and your father were in here earlier."

"Um, not quite," Jane says, still scowling. "Not Mithos. Never Mithos."

But the blush on her face says otherwise.


	16. the final plunge

**the final plunge**

There are many men who have already pledged themselves to the Church of Martel. After a thousand year war, people are desperate for even the tiniest bit of hope, and that's what the goddess has to offer.

As guardian of the temple of the Great Tree, Jane has been recruited by the elves to spread the word against the Church. She almost refuses at first, but then she finds Kratos in her garden and sees how desperate he is. Neither he nor Yuan has it in them to stop Mithos, so it's up to her now.

And she tries, she really does. She visits Ozette, the sleeping village in the deep of the Gaorrachia Forest and tries to convince people that the Church of Martel is not as good as it seems. But it's too late. These people lost a great deal during the war, and now it seems the end of days is upon them. First the Great Hero Mithos disappears, next contact with Sylvarant is lost, and now monsters have taken over the forest. They are too far gone to listen to her, so Jane returns home, defeated.


	17. where no one sees

**where no one sees**

Jane doesn't know who it is, at first, who this strange man sitting in her library is. There's something about him that seems familiar, but she can't quite put her finger on it, so she arms herself with her father's rusty old sword and tries to surprise him. Her plan fails, and she finds herself weaponless, facing an armed stranger who has broken into her own home.

And then she realizes. He may be armed, but he is no stranger.

"_Mithos_?" she exclaims, and the man visibly flinches. "Oh spirits… but I thought…"

"Not anymore," he corrects stiffly. "You may address me Yggdrasill. Lord Yggdrasill, actually."

Jane falls silent under his stern gaze and allows herself a moment to think. He's here. He's really back, but he's changed so much, and they said he would be forever young. "What happened?" she asks quietly, after a moment. "You disappeared, and then… but I saw you, just a year later and you were still..."

"It's been over ten years, Lady Provice," Yggdrasill says calmly. "You're not the little girl you were before."

Jane shifts uncomfortably, clutching the sleeves of her nightgown in her hands. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asks, and Yggdrasill smirks in response.

Nearly four months later, a declaration is made by the Church of Martel that the first Chosen is to be born in less than six months. Jane wishes her child won't be nearly as stupid as she is.


	18. once bitten, twice shy

**once bitten, twice shy**

The elder's son, Rainier, comes to visit Jane's father after the exile of two mischievous half-elves from Heimdall. The elder knows Provice to be anti-discriminatory, and has only sent his son to taunt him.

Thirteen year old Jane finds out very quickly that Rainier thinks himself the heavens' gift to women, and has trouble keeping herself steady when he speaks to her.

"Your eyes," he whispers, upon meeting her for the first time, "shine like the moon." Jane blushes, having never been approached as such, and spends the rest of his visit hiding out in the parlour and library, too embarrassed to meet his eyes.

When the captain of the Tethe'allan knighthood brings a certain pair of mischievous half-elves to the temple a few months later and the young Mithos stumbles into the main hall with a nasty cut over his left eyebrow, Jane takes him to the infirmary and is startled when he compliments her on her beautiful eyes. She snaps at him and shoves him out the door.


	19. sweet dreams

**des beaux reves (sweet dreams)**

Jane falls asleep on the carriage ride home from the ball in Meltokio. Her head lolls against the window, and she slips into a world of unbidden desires and carefully guarded secrets. As she slips deeper in a dream state, the carriage trundles forward, lulling most of the other passengers to sleep as well, content in the safety of their vessel.

Mithos, sitting next to Jane, is the only one left awake, and takes the time to use the Elvish art of deciphering. He determines her dream using the lines on her palm, her facial expressions and the position of the stars overhead.

She wakes up halfway through his deciphering, stirred back to the waking world by the touch of his soft fingers on her palm, and finds him holding her hand, leaning out the window to get a good look at the stars.

"What the _hell _are you doing?" she exclaims, eyes wide.

Mithos jerks his head back inside the carriage and drops her hand quickly. "Ah… um… nothing."


	20. all that glitters is not gold

**all that glitters is not gold**

As the mother of the revered Chosen One, Jane is entitled to acres of land, piles of riches, a manor in the heart of Meltokio and marriage to a wealthy Elfish nobleman. Jane refuses these offers and, somewhat arrogantly, returns to the safe haven of her father's house in the temple. She is a single mother, due to give birth in only a few weeks, yet she refuses assistance and defiantly shuts her door to those who offer their comfort. She prefers to isolate herself from society; in the confines of her own home, she spends her days tending the garden, sewing baby clothes, and throwing valuable items against the wall. The newly formed Church of Martel sends her a small figure of the Great Hero Mithos, and she takes immense pleasure in smashing it on the floor.

Though the Church insists the Chosen's conception is a virgin miracle (Jane knows the real story), it is still unacceptable for a young, pregnant woman to remain unwed. The Papal Knights drag her to Heimdall where she finds out that the Pope has taken it upon himself to arrange a marriage for her, and she soon realizes that she will be wed to the elder's son, Rainier, within a week. Jane remembers him. On the morning of the wedding, the groom disappears, though his bride doesn't seem to mind. He turns up, years later, and cries how Jane threatened to castrate him should he go through with the church's plans.

She chooses a life of solitude, chooses to hide herself away where the greed of the rest of the world cannot get to her. And so Jane gives birth alone, crouched on her kitchen floor, cursing the goddess at the top of her lungs.


	21. all the world's a stage

**all the world's a stage**

"… and all the men and women merely players."

In his will, Lord Provice requested that his only daughter, Jane, be sent to a well-renowned finishing school in Sybak until she comes of age, or until she marries; whichever comes first, though Jane, sitting in the corner of the classroom and watching the rain run down the window, hopes the former never comes. She sits quietly, swinging her legs under her desk, unlike the rest of the young ladies in the room, who cross their petite slippers over one another and sit up straight with their hands folded in their laps. Constance stands in front of her desk, reciting a stanza from a work by a classic, human author. Jane has never heard of him.

"They have their exits and entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts."

The world has been a sad place since the disappearance of the Hero Mithos. The people of both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla are grateful that the thousand year war has finally come to an end, but there is much confusion regarding their hero. Rumors started to circulate almost immediately after the hero and his companions disappeared; but that was nearly two years ago, and now the story is not so much intriguing- just worrying.

"…And then the lover,  
>Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad<br>Made to his mistress' eyebrow."

Jane is seventeen years old. She has traveled all over the world, fought in the Kharlan War and interacted with summon spirits. Her first kiss was the hero Mithos. She has experienced more than all of the girls in the classroom combined, and yet they doubt her.

"…last scene of all,

That ends this strange and eventful history,

Is the second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."

She knows what an exsphere can do, and although she has not seen it personally, she can imagine what it must do to a person. The war has only been over for two years, and she is already feeling the aftereffects.


	22. a fine line

**a fine line**

"He killed my daughter," Jane says roughly. Yuan sighs.

"She was his daughter too, you know."

"He never loved her like I did," she murmurs, clenching her fists. "He never even knew her."

Yuan is silent for a moment. It's been nearly twenty years since the war ended, and this is the first time they've spoken to each other since Martel's death. Jane doesn't know how far Mithos is with his grand plans of reviving his sister, but it didn't take him long to set up the church and sacrifice his own daughter for the cause.

"Jane," the half-elf says finally. "Jane. It was for a greater good."

She slams her fist down on the table, startling Yuan. "A greater good? What, bringing your girlfriend back from the dead? The dead are meant to stay dead, damn it! She's dead for a reason."

"It's more than that," Yuan says, obviously in pain. "There's something else."

"Oh good," Jane snaps. "What the hell is he doing now? Taking over our minds too? Everything else is his already; why not our ideas as well!"

Yuan sits quietly, one hand resting on the table. Jane stops, and looks at him.

"Yuan?" she says, quite terrified on the inside. "What is it?"

"He calls it," Yuan says solemnly, "the Coming Age of Half-Elves."


	23. the middle of nowhere

**the middle of nowhere**

The Kharlan war is over before anyone makes it official. There a few soldiers with pent-up rage against the other country, but for the most part, everyone is tired of a thousand years of fighting and accepts the end graciously.

There's to be an official ceremony, of course, where Queen Soleille and Emperor Hama will shake hands and each sign a peace treaty, but it can't take place on any sovereign soil, and if a Tethe'allan ship is used, the Sylvarantis will be pissed and vice versa. Mithos convinces both governments to hold the ceremony in a remote, wooded area of Tethe'alla- but then announces another ceremony, taking place near the mountains of Hima. One for each country, which should satisfy everyone. Still, no one is sure why the ceremonies must take place in such far-off places, but the Hero insists, and they're in no position to deny him anything.

They travel to Hima from Luin by carriage- Mithos, Martel, Yuan and Kratos are all packed into one. Jane is stuck with the assistant of her father, who's still in Tethe'alla, and Kratos' sister Lady Jessica, who is actually an entertaining companion, unlike her monotonous brother.

The ceremony is long and boring, and Jane's glad to see it end. There's a small reception afterwards, under a tent in Hima, where everyone spends most of their time trying not to fall off the mountain. Yuan and Martel disappear for most of the party, but it's not until later that they find out the two are now planning to be married in the summer, which of course pisses Mithos off.

They find each other during the reception, drifting through the crowds, trying to avoid be talked to, until they both end up in the center of the tent, staring around listlessly.

"Well, this bombs," Mithos finally says. "Fancy some fresh air?"

Jane's actually thinking, _Hell, did he just use fancy as a verb_, but she nods and follows him onto the cliff side anyways. They sit together on the edge, Mithos swinging his legs while Jane keeps hers close to the rock face. She doesn't realize they're holding hands until he lets go to point somewhere over the cliff.

"Doesn't that look like a good place to build a tower?" he asks, which sounds like a strange question to Jane. She shrugs, uncharacteristically quiet.

"I suppose so," she says. "Are you building towers now?"

Mithos is silent for a moment, then says, "It's still not good enough. This world. It's not right yet."

"…what do you mean?"

"It's the half-elves. We're still being discriminated against, even though the world should be at peace now. It's not fair, how things have turned out."

Jane gently grabs his hand again. "The world will never be truly free of discrimination," she says, "as long as people are different. Even if we were all the same, the world would still not be right."

Mithos tugs his hand away, scowling. "I thought you were on my side," he grumbles. Jane frowns.

"I am," she says, "but only if you'll let me be. I can't help you if you aren't willing to accept help."

The hero sits still for a moment, staring into the distance. Jane can't bear to see him like this, so she looks away. Finally, Mithos stands up. "We should get back," he says quietly, but doesn't wait for her.

Years later, she will realize that this was the first sign of what was to come.


	24. once upon a time

**once upon a time (hey! this is not a fairy tale!)**

Jane doesn't remember the last time someone read her a bedtime story, but it's been years and it's a tradition she misses. When her mother was still alive, she'd pick out a story for Jane and the two of them would read it together, delving into magical wonderlands and indulging in the romantic fantasies that could happen there.

She's never read anyone a bedtime story either. She was an only child, and the only babysitting job she ever had was looking after a delirious Mithos when they brought him back from the battlefield, shot in the shoulder. She supposes that she really can't count that as even babysitting, considering they were both fifteen at the time.

Still, she's unsure of how to start when a five year old Mika asks for a bedtime story.

"All the girls at the church say that their nannies read them fairytales before they go to bed," the little says, trailing behind her harried mother. "Why don't I have a nanny?"

"Well, you don't need a nanny, do you?" Jane says. "I can take care of you myself."

"But you don't read me stories," Mika complains, clutching her mother's leg. "Mama-"

"Yes Mika?"

"Mama, will you tell me about Mithos the Hero?"


	25. fall from grace

**fall from grace**

The first time Jane sees Meltokio, she is two years old. She and her parents are moving into the temple, and she stops to admire it before her mother ushers her inside. It awes her- the absolute might of the castle, looming ominously over the rest of the city. They are miles away from the royal capitol, but it can be clearly seen on the horizon.

She doesn't visit Meltokio until she's nearly eleven. Her father has been summoned to meet with the queen again, and he's going to take her along this time. She spends most of the trip in their chambers, sick and tired, but at least she gets to be there in the city.

Jane wakes up the night before her fourteenth birthday and sees Meltokio burning in the distance. A Sylvaranti regiment had passed by the temple earlier that day. No doubt that they are the cause of this trouble.

The second time she visits Meltokio, it has been rebuilt and the soldiers have all come home. The crowds sing as they approach the palace, and her heart swells up with a strange combination of joy and embarrassment. That night, Mithos kisses her properly for the first time.

Years later, she holds her newborn daughter in her arms and watches from a distance as angels strike down the only city which refused to accept the goddess Martel. The unnamed Chosen One squirms in her arms and the midwife tries to take the baby from her, but Jane holds on tightly, afraid to ever let her go.


	26. uneasy lies the head

**uneasy lies the head that wears the crown**

Jane is bundling Mika up in heavy winter clothes, preparing the little one for her first snowfall when there is knock on the front door. Hesitantly, she carries her daughter down the stairs and answers it, the little Chosen still in her arms. Jane's always been a bit on the short side, and only grew about an inch in the transition from teenager to adult. But she is still taller than the ghostly figure who stands in her doorway.

He is just as she remembers. There are no signs that anything has changed. His face betrays no emotion, just two sea green eyes staring right at her. For a second, he is still the hero she fell in love with; he is the half-elf her mother would have disapproved of. But then Mika starts crying, and she is brought back to reality.

Mithos' gaze shifts from Jane to the little girl, but he shows no signs of recognition. Jane holds her daughter closer, laying a soothing hand on the head covered with honey blonde curls.

"That must be the Chosen," Mithos says. Jane frowns.

"She's your daughter, you know."

"She is a vessel," Mithos retorts quickly, but gently so.

Jane watches him with the same wary glare she gave the priests who baptized her daughter and held her over the cheering crowds. From what she has heard from the elves last time she was in Heimdall, Mithos hasn't descended since he flew away. Yggdrasill, yes, they know that he had come to visit her, but other than that, no one had seen the young hero since. That being said, there is only one question she can think to ask.

"Did Social Services send you or something?" she says.

Mithos blinks. "Excuse me?"

"Finally taking up your end of the child support?"

He sighs, glances at Mika, who's staring at him with wide eyes, then turns back to Jane. "I'm just worried."

"Doubting your grand scheme?"

"It relies too heavily on the part of the Chosen."

"Our daughter, you mean."

"It might not work."

"You sure as hell should hope it doesn't, because if you sacrifice our daughter, I'm going to kick your angel ass."

With that, Jane slams the door and doesn't look back.


	27. blood is thicker than water

**blood is thicker than water**

"Damn it!" Yuan falls to his knees, clutching the wound on his leg. Jane hurries toward him, but he waves her off with his sword and mutters for her to find Mithos. She hesitates, of course, because her father taught her to never leave a wounded comrade behind, but the desperate look in his eyes convinces her and she squeezes his hand goodbye and races off deeper into the Ymir forest.

Heart racing, she speeds on, clumsily tripping on her unsuitable for wetland environment slippers, until she finally rips them off and hurls them into the nearest swamp. She stumbles into a clearing, seemingly empty- until the ocelot gets her from behind.

"Augh!" she exclaims, falling to her knees. The ocelot giggles, like those damn monsters will do, and speeds off into the thick of the woods.

"Jane?" Mithos calls, stepping out from behind a tree. She glances up at him as he bends down next to her. "You're bleeding."

She opens her mouth to respond- but a scream rings out from somewhere else. Martel's scream. Mithos jerks his head up, suddenly looking terrified. Jane sees the shock in his eyes, and knows that he does not belong with her right now. She pushes him forward.

"Go," she says quietly. "Go to your sister."

He looks at her for a second longer before he leaves- but there is no competition here and they both know it.


	28. knife to the heart

**knife to the heart**

"Back in my day," the old man says, "we told stories like Cinderella, and Robin Hood. Fairy tales, they were called; stories of magic and faraway places."

Jane holds Mika close to her, listening solemnly to the old librarian. He lifts a book from under the desk and brushes a bit of dust off it.

"Here we are," he says. "One of the most popular books these days, both adults and children love it. It can't be true though, that's the thing. I met this young man, and he wasn't anything like the book describes."

Jane peers at the title. Yes, it's exactly what the priests want her to read. They say she doesn't believe; that for the mother of the Chosen One to deny the existence of the Goddess Martel is an abomination. "Well, people exaggerate," Jane says, trying to keep up her end of the conversation.

The librarian shrugs. "Yes, well, this is quite the exaggeration. You know, nowadays they're saying the war was caused by these Desians, have you heard? I don't even know who those fellows are, and I was on the front lines."

"They started the war!" Mika exclaims. "But the Hero Mithos saved us all. He sacrificed himself to the Goddess Martel to end the war."

Jane winces, watching as Mika lets go of her hand to get a better view at the book.

The librarian peers at the young Chosen over his half-moon reading glasses. "Ah yes, Chosen One, I do apologize for slandering the Great Hero in your presence. But I swear, he was still alive when the war ended."

Jane pulls Mika back. "Some things aren't as they seem, sir. Sorry to have bothered you. I shan't be reading this book after all."


	29. incidental music

**incidental music**

Mika steps up onto the pedestal, carefully lifting her long skirts with her fingers. Her white robe is too large for her, and hangs loosely from her shoulders. With her wavy blonde hair, hazel eyes and pink, childlike features, the people in the crowd whisper that she looks like an angel.

The 14-year-old girl places her hands on the altar, closes her eyes and begins reciting a prayer.

Jane stands in the audience, each arm in the grip of a Papal Knight, watching as a glowing orb of light descends from the ceiling. The crowd gasps- a woman screams, "Abomination!" and a Papal Knight roughly tosses her out of the temple. The Pope and his army are relentless. He who criticizes the Chosen One criticizes the Goddess Martel herself.

Mika clasps her hands together and turns her head upwards, praying as she has been taught to do. Jane lowers her eyes, knowing what's coming next, but the crowd is not ready for it.

Silver wings burst out of the girl's back, propelling her into the air, and the audience screams in shock. Tears slip out of Jane's eyes and she glances up at her precious daughter being blessed by an angel of Cruxis. As the angel ascends back up to the heavens, Mika lowers herself to the ground and the crowd immediately rejoices, cheering for the Chosen One who has come to save them. Jane lets herself sob, falling to the ground, but no one hears.


	30. till death do us part

**till death do us part**

Jane is over nine hundred years old when she finally goes to see the Tower of Salvation for herself. Tethe'alla has been in poverty since Mika gave her life nearly a thousand years ago. The most recent in a line of Chosens, young Sanjaya, received the oracle last month. He will be well on his way to losing his soul.

She stands feebly at the base of the tower, leaning against a thick, wooden cane. Her father relied on it in the last years of his life, and she is carrying on tradition.

The tower opens only for the Chosen One, but it opens for Jane. The angels sing only for the Chosen One, but they sing for Jane.

She climbs the stairs slowly, wincing as her aching knees bend with each step. The climb is excruciating. For the first time in her life, she wishes she had wings.

Jane reaches the top and stumbles onto the landing. A lifeless angel floats before her, and leads her into the tower. She follows the angel down a narrow pathway, hovering in the middle of a seemingly impossible vast space. She is guided onto a platform which stirs into action and carries her up to the heavens.

She passes the chamber room, where she knows her daughter must have died. She passes the city of angels, the place Yuan spoke of when he told her about a thousand year reign. She passes a dark room where she can barely make out Kratos' silhouette, but she sees him. She passes another chamber, with a light radiating from that poor woman's eternal prison.

The platform finally lets her off in the antechamber of a dark, mysterious castle. He has done so much in the last thousand years. Jane still loves him and, in a sick sort of way, she's immensely proud of him.

The angel leads her off the platform, and as she steps onto the marble floor, the click of her heels echoes through the hall. A man stands at the top of the grand staircase. A man with long, blonde hair and glittering angel wings. He gestures at the overhead balconies.

"Look familiar?" he asks, smiling. "I modeled my castle on your father's temple."

Jane looks around, tired, and not just from climbing. There is silence once again when she doesn't respond. Yggdrasill looks unhappy, and after a moment, dismisses the angel. Jane watches him leave, then turns back to the Seraph.

"You win," she says, her voice raspy. "I've hidden from you for nine hundred years, but you still found me in the end. I give up. You won't listen to anyone."

Yggdrasill frowns. "I win? Jane, this was never a competition. My way is the only way, don't you see? You've just been misguided."

Jane scoffs.

"But no longer must you walk down that path. I offered once before, a long time ago. You refused me then, but I am certain this is why you have come. I will ask again."

"Don't waste your breath," Jane snaps, and Yggdrasill blinks in surprise. "I don't want to join your stupid cult. You've caused me enough grief already. I think it's time for this to end."

Yggdrasill tuts. "I've already told you- there's no need for anything to end. You only want to knock me down because you don't know the good Cruxis has created. Once you see my side of the story, all of that will change."

"I didn't mean _this_," Jane says, somewhat gentler. "You can carry on living in your little dream world; but I've given up. I can't go on like this. It's been almost a thousand years that I've tolerated this hell. But no more. This ends now."

He is silent as the full implications of her words come over him. He watches her closely, and their eyes meet. "Jane," he says quietly. "Just think. You don't have to be unhappy anymore. I can change all of that. You'll be youthful again. You won't ever have to face death. I can give you all of that."

Jane sighs. "You know I don't want that."

"It's not that you don't want it; but rather that you don't want to want it."

She looks away from him, legs shaking unsteadily as she grips her cane tightly. "I can't," she says. "I just can't." She stares at the floor, eyes watering. The patterned tiles waver in and out of her vision.

"Then why are you here, Jane?"

She can tell by the pain in his voice that he already knows why she has come all the way to Vinheim. He can tell by the look in her eyes that she's serious about this.

"I didn't think it would ever come to this," he says quietly, slowly raising one hand. She tries to stand up a little bit taller; the cane wobbles and clatters to the floor. She hunches over again.

"I'm sorry it had to end this way," she replies, "but I still love you and I wouldn't want anyone else to do it."

For a moment he looks like he's going to acknowledge her confession; but in her old age, she must be seeing things, because he just shuts his mouth and kills her.


End file.
